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Or is heading that way. It's a circa 2007 unit and not in the best shape, though it's been in fresh water for the last several years. Last year it stopped lowering and would only raise. The control solenoids both click and it runs off the house bank, so voltage should not be an issue as it's...

Our raw water washdown pump quit last year and I am taking the opportunity to also update the fitting at the bow. It felt like just a matter of time before I kicked the old one and either broke it or my toe. As is so often the case, it was not as simple as it appeared. While it looks a lot like...

Back in high school a friend of mine replaced the drivers seat of his '67 Bug with a lawn chair. Seemed cool at the time and saved a trip to the junk yard to look for a real seat. Today, I am thinking about replacing the squeaky and wobbly swivel seats on our fly bridge with something like you...

Space at each of our helm stations is limited and as I plan our upcoming electronics upgrade it occurred to me that the autopilot does not need its own dedicated control. We are looking at Garmin systems and their autopilot can be controlled directly through their multifunction displays with all...

Seaboard Marine has a great page on anodes for Cummins and other engines including the QSB. Mine looks about the same and I find what appear to be the same three. They all appear to be the same ½" NPT threads, but those pencil anodes come in a variety of lengths. What is the correct length?

The Sun Dog 221835 (best I can tell, and sorry for the poor photos) latch securing the lazarette hatch in our cockpit has been leaking. I built a step to both cover the rudder and hydraulic steering ram and ease access in and out of the lazarette, and the latch leaked black water onto my step's...

I am planning an electronics upgrade and that would also be the time to remove some legacy switches and move others to less valuable spots at my crowded helm. Trying to decide and would appreciate perspectives on the following. The fate of the dedicated depth finders was discussed in a...

I am planning an electronics upgrade for next winter. Part of that upgrade will be modern sonar. We have simple Uniden and HawkEye depth finders at the lower and upper helms respectively. Of course the new electronics will not use the same legacy transducers. I am weighing the pros and cons of...

Our Cummins QSB displays hours of operation on SmartCraft as well as on a dedicated mechanical counter at the upper helm. As space is at a premium on that upper helm, my plan is to remove the hour meter up there to make way for higher priority instrumentation. I virtually never consult that...

The original cigarette lighter type charger cable for my West Marine VHF85 (aka Uniden MHS75) radio became frayed and was replaced by a new DC85. Some time later all of the cigarette lighter "ports" aboard were replaced by higher output USB ports. I still use the AC adapter (basically a plug in...

Coffee has always been an important part of our mornings and it continues to be so aboard. We cook on gas at home, but Escape has an all electric galley. At home we brew coffee with an electric drip maker into a thermal carafe. Similar set up aboard where the drip maker is rated for 900 watts...

I vacillate back and forth between making do with our 2019 Highfield CL310 and buying a new one with a factory bench seat and helm. When I'm in the making do end of the swing, I imagine all sorts of seats, custom and otherwise, to make the dinghy more comfortable. Weight is important, but adding...

We had one coat of blue Interlux Micron CSC Extra applied for $1200 while our Mariner 37 was in storage last winter. The summer was typical in western Lake Erie as was our excursion pattern. Weekends, but the boat sits in warm, shallow fresh water all week for the whole summer. Sad, I know...

I see a lot of small trailers advertised as jet ski or small boat trailers. Our 10 foot Highfield CL310 is smaller and lighter than most of the jet skis in our marina. Are those small trailers fine for both?

In addition to anchor and running lights, our mast has two GPS antennas and an old radar antenna. One of the GPS antennas is decommissioned and I am replacing it with a SeaWatch antenna to access local over the air TV signals. Coax cables for the GPS antennas passes out of the mast and into the...

We were at anchor Saturday night and the wind picked up to 10-15 as forecasted. It was off shore and our anchor was well set, but it kept me awake for a while thinking about the other boats nearby. Escape swings what seems like a lot to me with (and without) the bridle and I wonder if that is...

I had not figured mounting 10" Herreshoff cleats to Escape's gunwales would be so difficult. Seems like a ready made location. As with so many things, there are a lot more factors than first appear. The choice has come down to stud or 4 hole mounts. Both cleats have very similar dimensions and...

The old Simrad AP16 on Escape does great at times and weaves like a drunk driver at times and it seems to be getting worse. My recent experience was running from Sandusky about 10 miles north to Put In Bay. The autopilot held a true course up to the Buckeye Reef buoys, but then was 30-40 degrees...

I am adding a 2000 mAh battery to my dinghy to power a new Hawk Eye depth sounder. Since my 15 hp Yamaha is manual start and has no generator, I have a 2 watt solar panel to keep the battery charged. To prevent overcharging, I have a small charge controller. My testing shows the small panel...

The right tension on the bimini frame stopped it from rattling in the wind, but the VHF antennas still knock against the frame in the right wind conditions as there is less than a half inch of clearance between the antennas and the frame. The knocking isn't loud on the bridge, but it is...

I am ready for cold beer and hard ice cream, so I finally gave up on my N'ercold DE0061 refrigerator and am going to an AC only model. My plan is to power the new fridge from two sources, AC via shore power or generator, and my house battery bank via a dedicated inverter. The right Victron...

We had a nice varnished wood flagpole mounted in a nice stainless socket on our transom, but it became an obstacle back there and was removed. We had a cheapo flagpole mounted to the stern rail on our bridge, but it came down when the Dinghy Butler was installed. I have a nice flag halyard on...

The on/off thumb "trigger" stopped working on our cockpit shower nozzle. I thought about taking it apart to clean it, but the chances of breaking it during disassembly look like nearly 100%. Is that just a sink sprayer, or did Mariner/Helmsman buy something special or unique?

The settee cushions on our flybridge weigh about 40 pounds each thanks to soaking up last weekend's rain. Last year only one of them soaked up water. They do not drain well and soak unsuspecting sitters feet when they sit down. Not good. As I think about replacements, I am reminded just how...

There has got to be a better answer than the ratchet strap. Yes, the pair of 1” stainless ratchet straps hold my dinghy tight and secure in my Dinghy Butler, but setting them almost doubles my retrieval time. Usually by the time I think of something there is already an industry making them...